The Rise of the Byzantine Empire

[elricstorm]

Chapter 6 is now at an end. I'm going to show a few screenshots of our current country:

Our nation is going to be in a lot of trouble now. With the issues that Urbano created, France is certain to be on our doorstep.

France now has less inflation that us and has a land technology of 13 while we now have 10. So, they are larger, more advanced militarily and will more than likely attack us in Lombardia.

I have no idea how chapter 7 will turn out but it looks like it's going to be ugly. Even with scorched earth tactics, I do not believe I can hold France from our doorstep. I have a lot of creative ideas but they won't work. If anyone has advice for how to deal with this scenario, I am open to all advice. As you can see, we are in some trouble here.

 

[Enewald]

You know it takes 100 years to reach zero inflation at this rate?
Never mint money!

And France might attack you quite soon...
Is Aydin a vassal of yours?

I would have kept Albania, and then conquered all the Illyrian ports later.

 

[elricstorm]

You know it takes 100 years to reach zero inflation at this rate?
Never mint money!

And France might attack you quite soon...
Is Aydin a vassal of yours?

I would have kept Albania, and then conquered all the Illyrian ports later.

Oh, I know.. believe me. The point of this AAR was to play it out as a story, not as a way to perfect the formation of Italy. This means, coming up with flawed rulers and making mistakes on purpose. The challenge is purposely recovering from those mistakes and trying to be successful.

Aydin is not a vassal.

The only vassals we have are BE, Crete, and Karaman. Karaman is a catholic nation. My issue now is that I've made many mistakes on purpose and now I'm being overly challenged, hehe. I need some advice to continue. I might have created too many mistakes here but I'm still hopeful.

 

[Enewald]

You fool, go back centralized!
Decentralization destroys you over time!

And as to France, send a lot of spies to cause havoc, aka decrease stability and cause revolts.
Blockade all their ports if possible.
Lure their army into a province where you can defend easily, find a general with big shock value, DEFEND, concentrate erstwhile on smaller enemy armies, avoid the doomstack as long as possible. And don't give up too much territory, and never give them provinces in peace deals!
Pay them of if fighting them off won't work.

 

[elricstorm]

You fool, go back centralized!
Decentralization destroys you over time!

And as to France, send a lot of spies to cause havoc, aka decrease stability and cause revolts.
Blockade all their ports if possible.
Lure their army into a province where you can defend easily, find a general with big shock value, DEFEND, concentrate erstwhile on smaller enemy armies, avoid the doomstack as long as possible. And don't give up too much territory, and never give them provinces in peace deals!
Pay them of if fighting them off won't work.

You forgot that I started the game "decentralized". It was a handicap at the very start of the game. I had to remove inflation or I would have been up to 11 or 12%. My next few sliders are centralization and with the formation of Italy, if I last that long, I'll receive a centralization bonus. Again, the point of the AAR was to create mistakes through ruler personalities and overcome the challenges.

The advice on the war with France is helpful. Without a 50 MT general, I will probably have to convert my ruler into a general since he has an 8 military value. They will come across two points and there's no moving backwards, because they will scatter across all of northern Italy. They usually start with smaller stacks and then bring the doomstack in.

How should I fight the large stacks? Scorched Earth + small units in the province? I have to hold two points - Lombardia and Brescia. If I backtrack any further, they will take 8 or 9 provinces in no time.

If I divide my military and take her west coast, I can probably siege 10 territories and spread her out thin. My fleet is greater than her fleet. She has about 20+ ships.

More advice needed..

And, fellas, try not to state I'm a fool or point out the obvious. Again, the AAR is played with mistakes on purpose. Anyone who has read the entire AAR would already know this...

Also, what about government change? I don't really want to do it but royal marriages might help with personal unions at this point.

 

[Enewald]

No, stay as a republic.
You should definitely blockade them asap, then hope that they exhaust themselves before they destroy your armies.

Otherwise I'm quite clueless.
Maybe try to abandon Italy, and strike into the heart of the enemy?
Or at least pillage their homeland a bit, for the fun of it. Makes nice story, when Hannibal came to Italy, the Romans couldn't defend him there so they sent troops to Africa.

 

[elricstorm]

Haha, that's classic. That gives me some good ideas. Thanks mate.

 

[unmerged(58610)]

Impressive to see Venice that big, so soon. Unfortunately, you seem to have passed the BB wars trigger. Everyone will be after Venice.

Don't worry too much about France, The ai loves sending 120 regiments across mountains in winter and the French will be going for Venice and your fleet's big enough to stop them ever taking it. They'll suffer horrendous attrition. Their smaller forces will also suffer attrition and should prove easy meat forcavalry shock armies.

If you can land armies on the coast, take territory so that the French are out of supply.Scorched earth in France ought to drive their WE sky high. it might be fun to see just how many countires you can create out of France. Meanwhile high good diplomats to bring your BB down. Your Byzantine allies will help, too.

 

[blsteen]

Indeed, you have a big navy use it

 

[elricstorm]

So, I have to admit that my one lone weakness in the game is my lack of experience with a large naval fleet. I understand how to block connecting land masses, and I also know how to transport my fleet around and attack different areas. What else can a fleet do as a tactical advantage to weaken France. Please enlighten me so that I can also learn something new for this AAR. In otherwords, can someone explain how to setup a proper blockade?

Many thanks in advance.

 

[bofski]

First of all, the fleet is Venice guarantee for survival. As long as the strait from Treviso to Venice is blocked they will never be able to attack your capital and by far wealthiest province. You have superior Navy. Look for the enemy fleet, and leave ships blocking their ports on the mediterannean Ports. Would be best if you got military access to some Atlantic Port. Ask Hollan, Castille, etc. Blocking all their ports will greatly hurt them. Once you located their fleet and destroyed it, its easy for you. If they are in a harbour, try to lnd in the province and try to take it. Once it is yours, their fleet has to leave the port and your fleet being stationed there will sink it. Then get back on your trnsports when their superior armies arrive and land elsewhere, while you battle their other armies on Italian soil. This should do it. I understand that blocking the ports will greatly increase their war exhaustion. Anybody to confirm that?


One time I was battling Castille a Venice. I had an empire of islands and thus a fleet (I guess only the English fleet was a match to mine) but only few land units, which were engaged in fighting in Africa, Indonesia and getting rid of rebels in India. I managed to get a score of 32 percent with my Gibraltar occupied while I had no Spanish province. (Settled peace for renounce claims on Balears and Swedish Canaries [had been my allies in a former war against Castille]). I just blocked it for a year or even longer until they gave up. They have never been any danger to my Venice. And the whole game noone else managed to take any province except Gibraltar and Treviso. Seing that you have taken Italy, this might be harder as you also will have to fight them on land to not get crippled.

 

[elricstorm]

First of all, the fleet is Venice guarantee for survival. As long as the strait from Treviso to Venice is blocked they will never be able to attack your capital and by far wealthiest province. You have superior Navy. Look for the enemy fleet, and leave ships blocking their ports on the mediterannean Ports. Would be best if you got military access to some Atlantic Port. Ask Hollan, Castille, etc. Blocking all their ports will greatly hurt them. Once you located their fleet and destroyed it, its easy for you. If they are in a harbour, try to lnd in the province and try to take it. Once it is yours, their fleet has to leave the port and your fleet being stationed there will sink it. Then get back on your trnsports when their superior armies arrive and land elsewhere, while you battle their other armies on Italian soil. This should do it. I understand that blocking the ports will greatly increase their war exhaustion. Anybody to confirm that?

I'll let you first know what it is I understand and then what I don't. I understand the blocking of straits and do this all of the time in Venezia and Corfu earlier in the game. I understand that taking a province of an enemy that has ships docked at it will force the fleet to undock and my ships can destroy them.

What I don't understand is the following:

The blockade of ports is what I'm not so sure about. From my understanding of what you are saying here is, I need to have access to a port. I always thought that any province facing a sea zone has a port. I must be mistaken in what you are describing eh? Also, if my fleet is in the water away from a province that I own that is on the coast, they start to damage and get destroyed. What you are describing is either a) asking for permission for any military access to a province adjacent to a sea zone, or b) more specifically, some type of port access which I don't follow completely as I wasn't aware that there were differences of ports versus territories that you could dock at.

 

[elricstorm]

Nevermind, I figured it out by downloading the latest game manual. I had a very outdated manual and never downloaded the IN manual. I'm looking into ports now.

Thanks everyone. Wish me luck.

 

[Enewald]

Ask military access from some foe of France, that has ports in northern Spain or along the English Channel. Once the attrition starts to damage your ships, have them repaired in friendly ports.
You can blockade a port by controlling the seazone to which it is connected. Blockading ports earns you money, and takes away money from the enemy and causes war exhaustion.
You could also lure the ultimate French doom-stack into Venice, then prison them there with your fleet and reconquer the northern Italian provinces, while letting the French sit and die of attrition in Venice.

You don't really need that much skills to win the war. Some basic game knowledge should allow a flawless victory, as the enemy is AI.

 

[unmerged(145825)]

Nice theme, I recently started something similar (although in EU2).

Good luck with your expansion.

 

[unmerged(58610)]

Just one galley in Venice's home waters is enough to stop France taking it. That's not really advisable since the ai can just raise privateers.
Most coastal provinces do have ports and a sea province may blockade one or more coastal provinces.
You took national conscripts as your idea. Superior seamanship with +2 manoeuvre might have been better to secure initiative in combat and adding time to the period your ships can stay outside a port before they start to take attrition. he English ai usualy takes it, though you won your first enounter with them.Next time you fight

Your plan to have your transport fleet unescorted is something I think you'll need to reconsider. There's nothing more galling than sailing by a neutral port only for enemy shps to pop out just because they;ve negotiated militry acces on the sly. A really good admiral is something you will need to invest in.

Your fleet is limited by range. Taking enemy coastal provinces improves yours and hampers theirs. Deny the Med to the French and they're toast. Your troops can heal up in Byzantine lands, if you need to.Their fleet will probably park itself outsdie Venice for the duration of the war.

 

[elricstorm]

Ask military access from some foe of France, that has ports in northern Spain or along the English Channel. Once the attrition starts to damage your ships, have them repaired in friendly ports.
You can blockade a port by controlling the seazone to which it is connected. Blockading ports earns you money, and takes away money from the enemy and causes war exhaustion.
You could also lure the ultimate French doom-stack into Venice, then prison them there with your fleet and reconquer the northern Italian provinces, while letting the French sit and die of attrition in Venice.

You don't really need that much skills to win the war. Some basic game knowledge should allow a flawless victory, as the enemy is AI.

Hi Enewald, thanks for takiing the time to explain some of this to me. If I learn a lot about naval combat from this AAR, I will be very pleased. So, here are some follow-up questions and concerns.

First, when I hover over any of the sea zones, I can see whether or not there's a supply limit for me, which would keep me from having attrition. However, I would not be able to repair until either late in the game or unless I find a friendly sea port.

So, looking over just the sea zones with supply limits for myself, I can park right to the south of Granada near Gibraltar without taking any attrition.

If I were to secure military access from say Castille (just an example here), would I gain their supply lines limit instead of my own? Or, am I stuck with my supply lines regardless of what happens?

If I put two ships in every sea zone adjacent to a french territory and blockade it, is this what you are referring to? And, if doing this during peacetime, I still don't get money correct? Only during war?

Thanks a bunch.

 

[unmerged(33767)]

Excellent AAR! I love different stories and characters and it is always a lot of fun to create and solve your own problems. Makes the game feel real and keeps the excitement going until the very end. And you definitelly have a lot of potential bad guys around you.

I would like to ask your permission for something. I would like to write a small speach, coming from some citizen of the republic, just to add a bit more background and give some advice in an AAR way. Would it be fine? You could hang the lad if you don't like what he's saying

But, once again, superb AAR, we'll be reading.

 

[elricstorm]

Excellent AAR! I love different stories and characters and it is always a lot of fun to create and solve your own problems. Makes the game feel real and keeps the excitement going until the very end. And you definitelly have a lot of potential bad guys around you.

I would like to ask your permission for something. I would like to write a small speach, coming from some citizen of the republic, just to add a bit more background and give some advice in an AAR way. Would it be fine? You could hang the lad if you don't like what he's saying

But, once again, superb AAR, we'll be reading.

Absolutely, the more the merrier.

 

[unmerged(33767)]

An open letter by Ludovico Albizzi, bishop of Lucca. Sent to the Doge and petitioned to be read out before the Major Council of the Republic of Venice.



I write this letter in exalt of Venice and its Doge, to bring forward their many successes and great virtues. To offer praise to the Republic that makes our many towns and all men work together. Yet I also write to reveal a shadow hanging above our great nation, one that may undo all that God had given us through his mercy.

Our nation overflows with trinkets of material value, held in high regard by men of all stature and desired even by the richest of us. Linen from Florence, precious stones from the Levant, spices from far away and homes that resemble the temples of heathen Gods. The wealthy of our Republic live to enlarge their coffers and the poor do their bidding in the hope of gaining some of that false happiness.

God has given us these means to build his Kingdom and to reward his servants, not feast it away by means of acquiring ever expensive meals. We are a nation that can turn the world around without loosing what we value so much.

Battles with Grandees of Catholic world bring no benefit to us nor them. Their selfless monarchs, in search of personal glory, may not know that fighting fellow Christians is against our Lord's will, but our Republic can and should be wiser. In fighting France we can only gain large cemetaries and a weakened Christedom, we must aim for peace. Here we can use the tools our Lord gave, put the coin, that we earn, to good use and satisfy the hunger of the Monarchs. For we have a mission!

I see a Republic that is larger and riches than any Christian country. One that unites, changes, educates and flourishes. This land is to be build on the ashes of the lost world, on the scraps of a civilisation that can still be found under the dirt of heatens.

A millenia ago Italy, Greece and Anatolia were a land united in faith, culture and wealth. Raise this land from the history and drive the heathens back into their deserts. Do what Justinian I failed to accomplish and make our Lord proud! For this unity does not only offer spiritual value, it can also make the world shine in gold. Our Father wishes our nation to be rich, because wealth is the reward for walking the true path!

I see you changing the world, rewriting history and creating a civilisation. Rewarding the servants of Christ with a land of wealth and driving the heathens into the wastes they once crawled out of. I see a Republic that unites, one with a centre in Venice and a presence in every man's soul!

Certainly not the easiest or most advantegeous routes to take, but, as I said, you can hang the man or burn the letter without it ever reaching further than the Doge's eyes